12 min
Cube Critics discuss ‘Finding Her Beat’ and ‘Marmalade’; plus an interview with drummer Jennifer Weir Cube Critics
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Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber discuss “Finding Her Beat” and “Marmalade.” Plus a Cube Critics extra: An interview with taiko drummer Jennifer Weir.
The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.
MPR News Arts Editor Max Sparber: Jacob, what did you see?
MPR News Arts Reporter Jacob Aloi: Okay, hang on, wait! Max Sparber! And with that, I’m Jacob Aloi.
Sparber: And I’m Max Sparber.
Both: This is Cube Critics!
Aloi: So, Max, I watched a documentary this week called “Finding Her Beat,” which was actually filmed largely here in Minnesota, about an event that took place in Minnesota.
Sparber: Nice.
Aloi: It’s about taiko drumming. Now for some context, taiko drumming is a Japanese art form that traditionally only men are allowed to be taiko drummers. But there has been a movement of women and nonbinary people that want to be recognized for their contributions to the art form.
And in 2020, there was a concert that was put on locally and it was produced and sort of artistically directed by Jennifer Weir, who is the executive director of a local taiko group called TaikoArts Midwest.
The film kind of follows this Avengers-style collection of the best minds of taiko women and nonbinary individuals who have been drumming in Taiko. And they put on this concert. It follows the ups and downs and all of the stress that comes with doing it, and also the stress of the looming threat of COVID. It was filmed right up to it.
So I highly recommend it. It is available widely on Amazon Prime Video for rent or to buy.
Sparber: Local filmmakers?
Aloi: Yes, local filmmakers Dawn Mikkelson and Keri Pickett were the co-directors.
Sparber: Jacob, I also saw a film that was lensed locally. This is a work of fiction. It is the first film directed by an actor, Keir O’Donnell, and you probably know him best as Todd in “The Wedding Crashers” — he’s the arty younger brother.
This is a result of something that is called Snowbate. It’s a tax credit offered to filmmakers that existed for a while and then didn’t — and now is back. And like a lot of Minnesota-filmed movies, you don’t necessarily know that it’s in Minnesota, like, Minnesota is just available as a set. It’s sort of a general regional film. Everybody’s got Southern accents for some reason.
That being said, I don’t really care if I know it’s in Minnesota. I just like the fact that we’re making movies here.
The film stars Joe Keery, probably best known as The Haircut from “Stranger Things.” He was also on this year’s season of “Fargo” and he was great in it — another Minnesota connection.
Let me tell you the plot: The film starts off amiably. It’s about a manic pixie dream girl, but what if she’s a criminal — and a very dangerous criminal. But I will say it starts getting twisty about half an hour in and then just gets twistier and twistier.
And sometimes I don’t really like twists in movies. But this time, it really works. First of all, it’s really good at the twists — you think you know where it’s going, and you are guessing wrong every time. And secondly, each of the twists actually make the film deeper, weirder and more fun.
And so I love that. Again, the film is called “Marmalade.” It's in several Marcus theaters locally, and it’s also available on streaming.
Aloi: Hey, I’m Jacob Aoi, and I’m one of the Cube Critics. I have two things I wanted to add really quickly to this podcast version of Cube Critics.
One, Max talks about a Minnesota tax credit that exists here that is meant to entice filmmakers to come to Minnesota to shoot movies. There’s actually an article all about that from one of our reporters here at MPR News, Feven Gerezgiher. You can check that out on our website.
And two, I actually did an interview with one of the subjects of the documentary that I watched, “Finding Her Beat,” Jennifer We
Cube Critics Jacob Aloi and Max Sparber discuss “Finding Her Beat” and “Marmalade.” Plus a Cube Critics extra: An interview with taiko drummer Jennifer Weir.
The following is a transcription of the audio heard using the player above, lightly edited for clarity.
MPR News Arts Editor Max Sparber: Jacob, what did you see?
MPR News Arts Reporter Jacob Aloi: Okay, hang on, wait! Max Sparber! And with that, I’m Jacob Aloi.
Sparber: And I’m Max Sparber.
Both: This is Cube Critics!
Aloi: So, Max, I watched a documentary this week called “Finding Her Beat,” which was actually filmed largely here in Minnesota, about an event that took place in Minnesota.
Sparber: Nice.
Aloi: It’s about taiko drumming. Now for some context, taiko drumming is a Japanese art form that traditionally only men are allowed to be taiko drummers. But there has been a movement of women and nonbinary people that want to be recognized for their contributions to the art form.
And in 2020, there was a concert that was put on locally and it was produced and sort of artistically directed by Jennifer Weir, who is the executive director of a local taiko group called TaikoArts Midwest.
The film kind of follows this Avengers-style collection of the best minds of taiko women and nonbinary individuals who have been drumming in Taiko. And they put on this concert. It follows the ups and downs and all of the stress that comes with doing it, and also the stress of the looming threat of COVID. It was filmed right up to it.
So I highly recommend it. It is available widely on Amazon Prime Video for rent or to buy.
Sparber: Local filmmakers?
Aloi: Yes, local filmmakers Dawn Mikkelson and Keri Pickett were the co-directors.
Sparber: Jacob, I also saw a film that was lensed locally. This is a work of fiction. It is the first film directed by an actor, Keir O’Donnell, and you probably know him best as Todd in “The Wedding Crashers” — he’s the arty younger brother.
This is a result of something that is called Snowbate. It’s a tax credit offered to filmmakers that existed for a while and then didn’t — and now is back. And like a lot of Minnesota-filmed movies, you don’t necessarily know that it’s in Minnesota, like, Minnesota is just available as a set. It’s sort of a general regional film. Everybody’s got Southern accents for some reason.
That being said, I don’t really care if I know it’s in Minnesota. I just like the fact that we’re making movies here.
The film stars Joe Keery, probably best known as The Haircut from “Stranger Things.” He was also on this year’s season of “Fargo” and he was great in it — another Minnesota connection.
Let me tell you the plot: The film starts off amiably. It’s about a manic pixie dream girl, but what if she’s a criminal — and a very dangerous criminal. But I will say it starts getting twisty about half an hour in and then just gets twistier and twistier.
And sometimes I don’t really like twists in movies. But this time, it really works. First of all, it’s really good at the twists — you think you know where it’s going, and you are guessing wrong every time. And secondly, each of the twists actually make the film deeper, weirder and more fun.
And so I love that. Again, the film is called “Marmalade.” It's in several Marcus theaters locally, and it’s also available on streaming.
Aloi: Hey, I’m Jacob Aoi, and I’m one of the Cube Critics. I have two things I wanted to add really quickly to this podcast version of Cube Critics.
One, Max talks about a Minnesota tax credit that exists here that is meant to entice filmmakers to come to Minnesota to shoot movies. There’s actually an article all about that from one of our reporters here at MPR News, Feven Gerezgiher. You can check that out on our website.
And two, I actually did an interview with one of the subjects of the documentary that I watched, “Finding Her Beat,” Jennifer We
12 min
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